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Zumas Revenge Review

Zuma’s Revenge was origianally released in 2009 on both Windows and Mac systems as a sequel to the original Zuma. Then in 2011 a new version was released on the Nintendo DS that is very similar to what is now on XBLA. Does the addition of new challenges and modes make you want to revisit the animal spirits on the island of Zuma?

Pros:

Varied Levels: In Zuma’s Revenge you have four different types of levels to experience as you take control of our favorite little frog. Classic levels will have you sitting in the middle of a level rotating 360 degrees to stop the balls from reaching their destination. You will also be put into levels where you can move from lily pad to lily pad creating bigger combos and increasing your score. Thirdly, you will be placed on a fixed horizontal rail only being able to shoot your balls vertically and last but not least you will be hopping into boss battles. Boss battles will have you facing the demi-gods of Zhaka Mu trying to hit them with balls, while dodging their own and in the process still keep the trail of balls from reaching the emblem. All these different types of levels keep the gameplay varied and addictive so that it never becomes monotonous.

Modes: The game features four different modes you can play as you go through the metamorphosis of a Zuma tadpole to a fully grown frog. You have adventure mode where you play through the levels and defeat the bosses for those areas. As you progress through that others like the weekly challenge, Iron Frog, and Boss Rush modes will unlock for you to play. Weekly Challenge tasks you with completing the levels as fast as you can, in the hope of climbing the ranks of the leaderboards. Iron Frog doesn’t let you don the suit of Tony Stark but it does put you in a ten level marathon with only one life to test your ball spitting skills. Boss Rush mode is exactly what it sounds like and it will have you facing off against all the bosses one right after another in one long run. There is plenty here to keep you coming back to the game and with the DLC spot on the main menu I can only expect to see more.

Avatar Awards: Will you shop off how in tune you are with the spirit animals to your friends with the unlockable avatar awards in Zuma’s Revenge? There are two different awards that you can unlock one being a Tiki Outfit for purchasing the game and the other a Tiki Mask for completing adventure mode.

Upgrades: While playing adventure mode you will unlock spirit coins for beating the level and finishing with a better spirit score and time. You can then use these spirit badges to upgrade your spirit animals that will help you along the way. For example you have the spirit monkey who will make extra fruit appear so you can get more points and the spirit cheetah that will increase the speed of your shots. These extra modifiers add even more replay value because you will want to go back and try and increase your score when you get them more powerful.

Power Ups: While matching balls of different colors some balls will be infused with a power-up that you can acquire by matching that color. You have the chance to get eight different power-ups and they can turn the tide and change your game greatly. Things like bomb will destroy many balls with a bomb shot, while others like reverse will make the balls move in the opposite direction. Use these power-ups along with the multiplier one to rise in the ranks on the leaderboards.

In Conclusion:

Zuma’s Revenge takes all the things you loved about the original game and adds even more to them. With new weapons and spirit animal upgrades you can become the ultimate frog and show your friends that you’re the king of the lily pad. The new modes and leaderboards will have you trying to outscore your friends for hours on end and I would recommend anyone who is a fan of the game pick up this version on XBLA.